Wordwyrt

magnet

/ˈmæɡnət/MAG-nuht
/ˈmæɡnət/MAG-nuht

MeaningMagnesian stone

Common meaning: object that attracts iron or produces a magnetic field

Journey through time

  1. GreekMagnēs lithos‘Magnesian stone’source
  2. Latinmeaning shiftsMagnesian stone → lodestonemagnetem‘lodestone’source
  3. Old Frenchmagnete‘magnet’source
  4. Englishmeaning shiftslodestone → object that attracts iron or produces a magnetic fieldmagnet‘object that attracts iron or produces a magnetic field’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Greek Magnēs lithos ‘Magnesian stone’.

Roots

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app